


Reconstruction

by weaselett



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Canon Character of Color, Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, Child victims, Disabled Character, Episode Tag, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Slight Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 11:55:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14715560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weaselett/pseuds/weaselett
Summary: There are some cases you just can't walk away from.With Scratch gone, Tara finds herself thinking of William Taylor. Back to work, just not with the team, Stephen Walker offers to help, picking up where they left off. The only question is, if there is an unsub at work, how do they prove it?





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> The victims are children, but there's no explicit details given in the story. There is a brief discussion of the profile of this type of offender, and suggestions of what might have been done to the victims, but nothing graphic. 
> 
> The story is set immediantly following 'False Flag' in Season 13, and back references various things. It's a very slight AU, mostly because I'd much rather Stephen hadn't died and because I wanted to write him and Tara working together.
> 
> -
> 
> Thanks go to the mods of the Criminal Minds Big Bang and to the lovely g_love99 for the amazing art made to accompany the story - which can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14674701/chapters/33903462

[](https://imgur.com/fSVmHc6)

“One need not be a chamber to be haunted.” Emily Dickinson

 

The mist had come seemingly out of nowhere, and Elisa had never been comfortable driving in limited visibility. Add in the fact that she had Charlotte in the back seat, and the rest stop had been the only real choice.

It was hardly a surprise that there weren’t any other cars parked up, it was almost midnight and they were pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Elisa sighed, switched off the engine, then turned to check on her sleeping kid. Charlotte had never been able to stay awake during long drives, regardless of whether it was nighttime or not. 

The yawn caught her by surprise and she laughed softly at herself. Maybe taking a leaf from her daughter’s book would be a good idea. One check that the car was locked and she shifted her seat back a little so she would be more comfortable. Then it was just a matter of closing her eyes and giving in to the weariness. 

The knock on the window made her jump, drawing her from the edge of sleep. She blinked dazedly out of the window at the man. It took her a long moment before she woke up enough to roll down her window.

"I was behind you on the road, I thought I should let you know you've got a light out." He was leaning on the side of her car, bent towards her. It was a little creepy, but she knew better than to do everything but smile and thank the man. She tensed, finger poised on the button to close the window, when he didn't withdraw immediately.

"Best you get it fixed, soon as." He added, his gaze flicking to the backseat.

Elisa dredged up her practised bright smile, "Sure will, soon as we get back to civilisation."

The man nodded and stepped back, lurking for a moment next to the car before he headed back to his van. Elisa eyed the plates and pulled out her phone, made a note, her in built paranoia driving her. He hadn’t been there when she’d fallen asleep, but he was claiming to have been behind them on the road. Maybe he had been driving a ways back, but that still didn’t make sense. 

The mist was still close around, but the fact she could see the guy’s plates told her it had improved some. She had no idea how he could have seen her lights, she hadn’t been aware of another car that close to her, in the limited visibility the lights would have stood out. 

Elisa chewed on her bottom lip. She could get out and check her light, but the guy was still out there. The other option was to just drive off, skip the break from the mist, not sleep with her daughter in the car with her in the middle of nowhere. 

She had to repress a shudder. With the adrenaline running through her blood after that wake up call, more sleep would be impossible anyway. Her instincts were telling her to run, to get as far away as she could, and not rest until she was certain they were safe.

She took a deep breath, calming herself, checked that Charlotte was still sleeping, then started the car. 

-

Some cases were harder than others.

Tara Lewis had always thought that cases that involved kids were the worst, and she’d never wanted to be proven wrong. 

A psychopathic truther, absolutely sure of her knowledge and version of the world, telling her to her face that something horrific she’d experienced herself had never happened; that was the absolute worst. 

Tara rubbed her eyes as she stepped out of the elevator. Everyone else had headed home, but she needed to get the report done and over with, had to be free of it so that she could decompress and try to get the damn woman out of her head.

She'd seen a lot of bad things over the years, had expected to really, in her line of work, but some things just stuck. Having to deal, reasonably, with a woman who steadfastly believed that some horrific truths were lies? That the FBI was in the business of creating horrific shootings and framing innocent people?

That had been damn close to the hardest thing she'd ever had to do.

The woman being a cold blooded murderer, who had induced another man to kill himself, made it harder still. Though really, it should have made it easier.

A person who could excuse themself from responsibility for killing another person was exactly the kind of person who could deny other people had done the same.

Tara slowed as she stepped into the bullpen, surprised to see that her desk was already occupied. Moving closer she realised who it was, and relaxed, just a little.

"Agent Stephen Walker, back on the job already?" She offered her friend a warm smile as she circled his chair. And he laughed, offering a half shrug, rolling himself back a little so he could make eye contact. 

"I just couldn't stay away."

"I know the feeling." Tara dropped her bags, pushing them under the desk with a foot before lowering herself into her chair and slumping back, just a little. While she’d been visiting him when she could, Stephen had only recently been given clearance to come back to work. Unfortunately, he was in no state to return to the BAU, as much as they wished he could.

“When did you start back?”

“Two weeks ago, I had a whole induction and tour of my specially adapted work desk, caught a few cold cases.” Stephen shrugged, “I’m not allowed to overdo it, so it’s been short days, but it’s nice to start back in.”

“The four walls starting to wear you down?” 

Stephen laughed, shaking his head, “My wife and her fussing was doing me in. I love the woman, but man, if she could do everything for me, she would.”

“Can’t say I blame her, considering. It was a close thing.” Tara said.

“I know, believe me, I’m glad to be alive.” Stephen offered a smile, “But it’s damn good to be getting back to work.”

Tara laughed, “Yeah.”

Stephen was silent, watching her for a moment as though gauging her mood, before he sighed, "I'm afraid this isn't exactly a social call, and from what I've heard about this last case, I wish it could wait...but..."

Tara frowned, straightening in her chair, "What happened?"

“I caught myself up on that search I was helping you with before,” Stephen nodded towards the folder on her desk, "The man with the skull tattoo, he got flagged by a woman who reported a strange encounter at a rest stop."

"She didn't have a kid?" 

Stephen shook his head, "She did, but when he knocked on the window it freaked her out some, so she didn't stay. She stopped at the next busy place she could and checked her lights, they were fine. She took the guy's plates, apparently her ex was a nasty piece of work and the experience made her especially paranoid so she always takes notes."

"Are you saying we have his plates?" Tara asked, pulling the file towards her and flicking it open and eying the top sheet of the report. 

Stephen’s head tilted to one side, "We might have, it's hard to say. Her story matches the others, but obviously as she left he didn't have the chance to follow through. Add in that really his behaviour isn't illegal up to the point that he takes the kids...and isn't as unusual as we would like."

Tara winced, nodding. Not long after William Taylor’s death, she'd made enquiries with Hotch's blessing, and she'd surveyed people, only to discover that it wasn't unusual to have someone tell you about having a light out, and for it then to turn out not to be true. A mix between odd behaviour and dodgy wiring making lights vary. It had been frustrating, but after years of hearing her father’s mechanic tales, not as much as a surprise as it could have been. 

“It was one of the factors that made failed attempts so hard to flag. We can only tag the cases were kids died as possibles, not cases of misinformation.” She skimmed the report, chewing on her bottom lip, “It sounds like the accounts of the parents’ we’ve interviewed, and she noticed that he looked at her daughter.”

“Yeah, that was why she flagged it, that and the mist. His story didn’t convince her, and she removed her daughter from the potential threat.” Stephen said.

“But the sheriff thought it might just be her experience with the ex colouring her account.” Tara said.

Stephen nodded, “Yeah, but she insisted it be filed and it flagged through. I got the email this morning, and I figured you would want to hear.”

“Did they run the plates?” Tara asked, frowning at the file. It was vague, a clear sign that the sheriff had done the absolute minimum to keep the woman happy. 

Stephen shook his head, “They were out of state plates, but they didn’t run them.”

Tara raised an eyebrow and Stephen shook his head. “It’s not officially our case, and I don’t have that much access yet…”

Tara smiled, “Which is why you brought it to me.”

“It’s not a new murder, but it’s may be a good lead.” Stephen said. 

Tara nodded, flicking through the file one last time before flipping the folder closed. “Maybe the best one we’ve had.” She shook her head, then offered him a weak smile, “Thank you.”

Stephen shrugged, “My pleasure, it’s nice to have an excuse to visit y’all up here, I just wish the timing had been better.”

Tara shook her head again, “No, it’s perfect, this last case was a dosy. We got the killer in the end, but it was, a real test. Having a lead on this, after so long of skirting around the possibility of there being a serial killer targeting kids, it’s a good thing.”

“You going to take it to Prentiss, get the team on it?”

Tara eyed him for a long moment, “I’m going to take it to Prentiss, but not for the team.”

Stephen’s eyebrows raised, and Tara smiled. 

“Well I figure, this is a case you can see through to the end with me, if you’re willing.”

Stephen grinned, “I would like that.”

Tara nodded, offering her hand, “Shake on it.”

Stephen hesitated, patting his wheelchair, “You know I can’t go into the field with you, as much as I’d like to have your back on this one….”

Tara shook her head, “You’ll be my Garcia for this one, and it’ll be good to have someone with a little distance to bounce things off, work on the profile.”

Stephen laughed, then reached out and shook her hand. “It’ll be good to get my feet wet again, even if I can’t go into the field with you.”

Tara shrugged, “The range this guy’s covered, it’s going to be a tricky one, it’ll be good to have someone who isn’t chasing the unsub down to keep a focus on any new information coming in.”

Stephen nodded, then eyed the clock, “Let me know what Prentiss says, I’d best head down. Monica will be waiting.”

“I will.” Tara watched as he moved off, feeling the flash of guilt that seemed to be a constant as she was reminded of what Scratch had cost her friend. It was hard, and the others only talked about it on and off, and never around Matt. She just wished that there was some way that Stephen could return to the BAU, even if he would never be a field agent again. 

She looked down at the folder, then pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk and slid it in, thumb running over the edges of the other files. The man with the skull tattoo’s other potential victims. Fifteen kids in all, spaced over a few years and different states. Little to no evidence, just the strange encounters the parents remembered having before they’d fallen asleep, then woken up to find their kid gone. 

Stephen had caught her, a month after he’d joined the team, running through the files. With Hotch gone and Scratch at the forefront of everyone’s minds, catching the elusive, maybe non-existent, child killer had ended up on the back burner. 

She’d just not quite been able to let it go completely. Not when there were kids possibly at risk. 

Stephen had welcomed the chance to look at something that didn’t relate to Scratch, and she’d caught him up to speed. They’d thrown theories around when they could, and each had kept an eye out for possible additional victims. 

And then the final showdown with Scratch had happened, and Stephen had been in hospital, and they had all been dealing with the fallout. No new files had been sent her way, and she’d just, tried to let it go until she had something more to work from. 

If Scratch, and Reid, had taught her anything, it was that the single minded focus could get you off track. Sometimes you just needed to step away for a while. Then come back to it. 

And she had tried, but the truth was, she couldn’t get William Taylor out of her head. 

They said every agent caught at least one case that they couldn’t let go. This one seemed to be hers.

And it was time to catch the bastard. 

-

His hands clenched around the steering wheel, knuckles white. Anything to stop even the suggestion of the earlier shaking. 

He half heartedly sung along with the lyrics to whatever trash the radio was playing, eying the empty road ahead. He had miles to go before he would be able to sleep. 

It was dark, but the highway was clear. No one but him and the wilderness. 

It wasn’t ideal, but fate was a harsh mistress. He couldn’t always get what he wanted, he had always known that, always lived within that truth. 

His shoulders hunched, eyes narrowed on the road ahead. 

Soon. Soon he would get some satisfaction. 

-

After a night of not nearly enough sleep, Tara made her way back to the office early, determined to get the bits of her New Mexico report done before she presented her plans to Emily. 

It was a risky case to present, especially after everything that had happened in New Mexico. There were still only coincidences connecting the series of child deaths, and a number plate that might be connected to a man described by a number of sleep deprived parents who had only seen him at night. Maybe. 

Tara closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her hands for a long moment. She needed to do this, she needed to know for sure whether William Taylor’s ghost was real or not. 

Needed to know that she wasn’t failing kids by not acting against the threat the man posed to them. 

She released a long breath, calming herself, then opened her eyes, pushed back from the desk and gathered her pile of files together. She’d seen Emily arrive ten minutes before, coffee and breakfast in hand. No one else was in yet, meaning this was the best chance she was going to get. 

Walking to the door she ran through her arguments one last time. 

She could be spared to do this investigation herself. She would have Stephen for support, and she would call if she needed any help. Even with Reid off on his mandatory sabbatical the team was still bigger than it had been when she joined the BAU. Scratch was gone. She'd done her own work before, while the team went on without her.

Having the whole team would just draw more attention and this was a case that needed to stay on the downlow, at least until there was full confirmation of an unsub. 

There was absolutely no good reason for Prentiss to say no. Well, apart from one of the police departments arguing against.

Which they wouldn't. Tara knew that, between them she and Stephen had liaised with them all, spoken to all of the detectives involved. While they weren't 100% convinced of the existence of a serial killer, the fact that the victims were children swayed everyone to at least consider the possibility. To keep an eye out. 

If it had been runaways, or the homeless, even adults, Tara knew it would have been a battle. Society allowed the deaths of people like that to come across a little odd, without considering a serial killer. Some people were just more likely to die.

Apparently.

Tara shook her head, forcing herself to focus then knocked on the doorframe. Watching as Emily lowered her mug to the desktop, all of the folders on her desk still closed, the glare of the computer screen reflecting in the glass behind her boss the only sign that she had started for the day. 

“Morning Emily, sorry to disturb your breakfast, I was hoping I could have a minute?”

“Morning,” Emily smiled, shrugging as she dumped the now empty pastry package into her bin, “it’s fine, you are a much more pleasant disturbance than the normal variety. What can I do for you?” Her gaze flicked to the pile of folders. 

Tara stepped through the threshold, shifting the file folders little, “Well, there’s a case, or the ghost of a case I guess you could say, that I’ve been working on.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed a little, “This wouldn’t be related to the William Taylor case?”

Tara froze, mouth open for a moment before she shook her head, lips twitching into a smile, “Hotch left notes?”

Emily grinned, “The man was ruthlessly efficient when it came to making sure there was a paper trail. And that I would have everything I needed to help you guys out.” She hesitated for a moment before she continued, “Though to be honest, I think a lot of it in this case was because of what happened with Agent Callahan.” She dragged a folder from her top drawer, motioning for Tara to take a seat in the chair in front of her desk. 

“I’m not sure the two really compare.” Tara argued, “Though I guess it pays to be careful.”

Emily nodded, “Stephen mentioned he was helping you with it, before.”

Tara met Emily’s gaze, “He still is.”

Emily tensed, just a little, then sagged. “I knew he was due back, but I hadn’t realised, with everything, that he was back already.”

Tara smiled, “Yeah, I was the same. He’s getting settled.”

Emily sighed, “It sucks that he couldn’t come back here, though I fully intend to get him to help with the training.”

Tara’s smile widened, “I am sure he would be happy to.”

Emily nodded, finger tapping on the folder, eyes narrowing a little as she considering Tara. “This one really got to you?”

“The possibility got to me.” Tara said, “There were enough small details, enough elements that just didn’t quite work. I mean, it was entirely possible it was all in William Taylor’s head, and I have dealt with a lot of delusional men, but….”

“You couldn’t let it go without making sure.” 

Tara nodded, “Garcia did some searches, Hotch let me flag the details nationally, in that first search we found six cases that matched closely enough to suggest a real unsub.”

“Not just the ghost of one.” Emily said. “What’s changed, for you to come to me with this now?”

Tara slid the folders onto the desk, “Stephen caught a flag, a woman reported a man behaving suspiciously at a rest stop, the behaviour matched the previous cases, and the woman gave a licence plate.”

Emily’s eyebrows rose. “Have you run it yet?”

“Not yet. It isn’t officially our case. The sheriff’s office didn’t run them, besides noting that they were out of state plates.” Tara replied. 

“You want my permission to head out there?” 

Tara winced, tilting her head, “I’m not sure there’s much point, I can run the plates from here, I could interview the woman again, but the information would be limited, given the situation.” She said, “Really, I’m here to ask for your blessing to take some time out from the cases coming in and focus on this, wherever it might lead.”

Emily pulled the file towards her, flicking through it, silent until she got to the end and let out a breath slowly. It was obvious that she was weighing her options. 

“Look, I know, this might still be a wild goose chase. I fully accept that, and I will do everything I can to make sure there’s no risk of making the bureau look bad.” Tara said, “I have no intention of making any media statements, and when we’ve interviewed the parents in the past we always made sure that it was framed as a follow up. We never mentioned the possibility that we might be looking into a serial killer.”

Emily held up a hand smiling, “I know it’s my fault that you feel like you need to tell me that. I also know that you were proven right last time, and I respect your opinion and experience.” She took a breath, “You have my blessing to chase your ghost.” She held up the files, “There’s enough here that I agree with you, it needs to be looked into, but we haven’t been invited in, so you’re going to need take care with how you proceed.”

Tara nodded, “I know, that’s the other reason that I’m not convinced making the trip to Texas is worth it. The sheriff wasn’t sold on the story, and the woman’s kid is fine, so as far as they’re convinced there’s no crime.”

“Sounds like you have a plan of attack already.” Emily smiled, “Keep me posted, and let Stephen know that I’ve approved you both working the case. Don’t hesitate to let me know if there’s something you need, and we both know Garcia will be happy to help.”

Tara smiled, standing, “I know. Thank you.”

“Go catch your ghost.”


	2. Two

_2015._

_Tara laid out the sheets of paper on her desk. There were just three reports per case; the missing report, the discovery report and the ME’s report._

_That was it._

_Six dead little girls, all considered to have died accidentally. Every parent’s nightmare, but nothing suspicious. The girls hadn’t been on social service watch lists, they hadn’t been missing before, nothing suggested that they were vulnerable, that maybe the parent’s had lost their daughters on purpose._

_Six terrible accidents._

_Tara pushed herself back from her desk, thumb taping against her inner thigh, considering her options. Did she really want to contact these parents, grieving parents who thought their personal tragedies had been accidents, and give them reason to question that?_

_It was strange, surreal even. Contemplating whether she was chasing a ghost, a fantasy created by a grieving father’s sleep deprived mind, or a real man. A flesh and blood unsub._

_There was nothing behind the girls’ deaths to lead to equivocal death investigations. They had died of exposure, there was no sign of any other serious injuries, nothing to suggest anything more sinister than mother nature. She had no ground to stand on, taking this to the investigating officers. Not yet._

_Tara sighed, glancing towards Hotch’s office before she shook her head. Rolling forward again she gathered up the files, opened a spreadsheet and entered the basic details, then filed them all away in her drawer._

_She needed more evidence. She couldn’t test her theory with so little data._

-

“You know, it looks suspiciously like you’re setting up camp in my office.” Stephen couldn’t help but smile as he moved further into the room taking in the boards set up against the walls. The only free space was around the desk and the door. 

“Well, there’s nowhere in the BAU I could claim and I figured this made sense.” Tara replied, “But I can move it, if you’re not happy.”

Stephen laughed, “Why on earth would I be unhappy about actually working a case?” He shouldn’t be feeling so giddy about it. Kids had died, more kids might yet die, and yet, he just couldn’t get beyond how good the sense of purpose was making him feel.

Tara smiled, “I got the ok from Emily and Garcia is in the process of running the plate for us.”

“What are the odds that it’ll come back stolen?” He asked.

“Pretty good, but it’ll give us another bread crumb.” Tara said, fixing the last picture in place. 

“Bread crumbs being what most of this case is built on.” Stephen said, rolling over to his desk then spinning so he could take in the boards. Every other time they’d looked at the files it had been a matter of scattering the files across whichever desk they’d claimed. It was strange to finally see them laid out the same way as any of the cases the whole team worked. 

“It’s enough that we have our profile.” Tara said, moving to sit on the desk to his left. She didn’t even need to move anything to do it, his desk was so bare. 

“We just don’t have anything to run it against, even with Garcia’s skill you’d still get a massive list of suspects.” Stephen shook his head, eying the boards. “Hey, have you got a big map? I feel like we should have the locations plotted out.”

“I don’t, but I know where I can get one.” Tara headed for the door, stopping in the doorway to turn back, “You want a coffee of anything? I may as well grab supplies while grabbing a map.”

“Just water’s fine.” Stephen replied, watching until the door shut, blocking his view of her marching down the corridor. He sighed, looking around at the boards, remembering the last time they’d really discussed the case, before things had gotten really crazy with Reid. 

-

_2017._

_“I walked the site in Tucson,” Stephen said as he handed Tara her coffee, sitting on the edge of her desk, taking in the quiet bullpen. It was late, as it always was when they discussed this project of theirs, few desks occupied and only Emily’s light still on in the surrounding offices._

_“Was it any different than the others?” Tara asked, turning to face him._

_Stephen shook his head, “Same as you described, open space, not many landmarks, no way the kid have found her way back to the rest stop in the dark.”_

_“Matching the explanation of the girls walking away from the rest stop, then getting lost.” Tara said, “They die of exposure, so it just seems like an accident. The only thing that says anything else is the matching stories told by the parent when they reported their daughter missing. ‘A man knocked on the window, told me my light was out, walked away, I fell asleep and woke up to find my daughter gone.’”_

_“That and I don’t buy this many girls all dying that way. It happens, I know that, but it’s just, so many in five years, and all of them five or six years old.” Stephen shook his head, “I know myself, from experience, that kids wander off, but this,” he waved a hand at the files stacked on Tara’s desk, “just doesn’t sit right with me.”_

_Tara nodded, “After William Taylor, when I started this, initially I wasn’t sold. I thought I was chasing a ghost who provided the parents with an explanation for their tragic loss, even if it was ultimately a crueler one in some ways.”_

_“A little less within their control through, in some ways.” Stephen said, “I mean, the kid getting out of the car and wandering off on their own, you’d feel like it was all on you, you should have been able to keep them in the car, or woken up. The kid being taken, that’s a bit different, there’s an outside person who shares some of the blame, the guilt, with you.” He shrugged, “Not saying it makes sense, just that there’s some defensive logic there.”_

_Tara smiled, “Trust me, I know.”_

_“Oh yeah, that’s right, forensic psychologist.”_

_Tara laughed, shaking her head, before the smile faded as she looked at the pile of files, “All these cases, they fit the same sequence. Pull into rest stop, start to drift off, woken by man, go to sleep, wake up to child gone, report them missing, remains found at least a month later.”_

_“Which swings as either really bad luck, an illustration of how remote and hard to navigate the area is, or a countermeasure.”_

_“Those three factors being why it’s a hard sell with the locals when I have approached them.” Tara agreed, “Though, with three in Arizona now they seemed more willing to fully consider the possibly.”_

_Stephen nodded, “That was the impression I got from the deputy who walked me out there.”_

_Tara shifted, dragging a notepad out from her work pile and grabbing a pen. “So, what do we know about this guy?”_

_“His victims are all girls aged between five and six years old. All went missing from rest stops, all seem to have died from exposure.”_

_“He doesn’t have a racial preference.” Tara said, “Though that might just be due to the limited pool of potential victims, given his MO.”_

_“He’s definitely preferential though, with the gender and age.” Stephen pointed out. “And given that they are strangers to him, and they all died, he’d classify as a sadistic offender.”_

_“But he doesn't fit the typical profile. He’s taking girls not boys, there’s no sign of serious physical harm, though the bodies have all been found too late to say if they sustained any minor injuries.”_

_“We need a victim whose body has been found sooner, to say for sure what exactly he does to them.” Stephen said, wincing a little at the words, “Though they all died of exposure.”_

_Tara nodded, “Yeah, the medical examiners have all been certain of that, though with the state of the bodies…”_

_“You still gotta wonder if they aren’t just assuming based on other factors?” Stephen asked._

_“Yeah.”_

_“It’s not officially ours, and there’s nothing to warrant further examination, so we’re going to have to just accept that one for now.” Stephen said, “And if he does do anything to them, either they remain clothed, or he redresses them.”_

_Tara nodded, “We don’t really know what he does to them, if anything. Maybe death by exposure is his MO, shaped by something in his past.”_

_“We need more evidence,” Stephen said, sighing, “We have a profile built on supposition, based on the assumption that these are all victims of a serial killer who hasn’t been flagged.”_

_“Nothing on the Highway Serial Killer database, or on any state systems.” Tara said, “So no case for the BAU to be called in on.”_

_“Besides the one that started this ghost hunt of yours.” Stephen said._

_“The serial killer this serial killer might have triggered.” Tara replied, “Or, the serial killer who managed to convince me that his ghost story might be true.”_

_Stephen hesitated, watching as Tara slumped a little in her seat, rubbing her eyes. “You never told me, what it was about his account that got to you.”_

_“He was so sure. I mean, by the time we were called in, and that confrontation in his lot, he was beyond deluded. He couldn’t be shaken. His denial over his daughter’s death……” She shook her head, “I know he wouldn’t be the first to have killed based on a delusion that they believed that strongly, I just, it was a part of his account from the beginning. He didn’t invent it part way through the search for his daughter. It was the thing he held onto about that night, besides his daughter.”_

_“So you wanted to know if he had a ghost on his mind, or if there really was a man with a skull tattoo.” Stephen said._

_Tara nodded, “Yeah, and sadly, I found more cases like his.” She taped the files._

_Stephen lent forward, resting a hand on her shoulder, “Hey, it might take a while, but one day he’s going to slip, and we’ll catch him.”_

_Tara’s smile was faint, “I hope so.”_

-

Stephen replaced the phone in it’s cradle with a sigh, shaking his head. “Garcia says the plates were stolen, they trace back to Palm Springs but they were reported stolen three months ago.”

“So the plates are a bust.” Tara sighed, “Though they do give us an additional data point.” She picked up a white pin and marked the location on the map, standing out from all the green pins. A single blue pin marked the failed attempt.

“An extra bread crumb, that isn’t another body.” 

“You know, there’s one thing we’ve never figured out.” Tara said, eyeing the boards over the top of her coffee. 

“How does he know the kids are in the car in the first place.” Stephen replied, 

“Does he just follow every vehicle that heads into a rest stop late at night? Or does he spot them and follow until they pull over?” Tara said, “It all just seems to rely so heavily on chance.”

“He’d hardly be the only serial killer to rely on chance when it comes to victim selection.” Stephen pointed out, “Though his victims are much less likely to be in his ideal situation. His victims are just as transient as he is.”

“Maybe that’s a part of it, or the reason. Something happened to the unsub when he was a kid, something like what he’s recreating here.” Tara said, “If we had a smaller potential suspect pool, this is where we’d be calling Garcia to work her magic.”

“The tattoo doesn’t narrow the suspect pool.” Stephen said.

“Garcia couldn’t find anything like it in the biometric database from the prisons,” Tara replied, “either he hasn’t been to prison, or he got the tattoo after he was released.” Tara shrugged, “If we knew where he was from, if we had a narrower area to look at, maybe we could have found out where he had it done, but….”

“Too big an area, too many potentials.” Stephen finished and Tara nodded. 

“The one time we ran a fitler, we got over one hundred thousand possibles, and that was with us assuming that he didn’t have a fixed address.”

“Our suspect is a middle aged white dude with a distinctive tattoo on his hand, who is transient and willing to steal plates.” Stephen sighed, “Apart from the tattoo, he really could any of thousands of men currently living in the US.”

“And we’re back to needing more specific data.” Tara hesitated, glancing at the boards, “Unfortunately, with his failure in Texas, there are pretty good odds we’ll have another victim soon.”

Stephen nodded, “And no way to know for sure where he might strike next.”

-

Philip closed his eyes, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the steering wheel. 

It had seemed like such a good idea, when they’d first planned this trip. Stretch out the trip as much as possible, drive back overnight, get to spend as much time having fun as possible. 

It wasn’t like the night drive wouldn’t be perfect to get him back into the right cycle after two weeks away. He’d sleep when they got back, and get up fresh and ready for his usual night shift. 

Carly had warned him, but honestly, he didn’t get to spend anywhere near enough time with his youngest kid. He’d make the sacrifice of running on less sleep than usual. 

Problem was, he hadn’t factored in the fact he’d be driving in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. Nothing but darkness and the radio to keep him company while Isla slept in the back, exhausted. 

After almost drifting off Philip had decided the best thing he could do, for his and Isla’s safety, was pull into the first rest stop they came to and nap. Two hours sleep and he’d be good to go. There was only another hundred miles before they were home. 

He had set the alarm on his phone, Isla was asleep, and the doors were locked. Two hours sleep, then they’d be off again. 

The knock on the window jolted him upright and he stared dumbly at the face staring in for a moment before he reached over to wind the window down. 

The man flashed him a smile, “Sorry, just thought you should know, you’ve got a light out.” The man motioned towards the back of the car, “I was a ways behind you, saw you pull over and thought I should let you know.”

Philip nodded, swallowing and rubbing at his eyes, “Sure, that’s kind of you. Thanks.”

The man’s gaze flicked briefly to the back seat then he was stepping back with a wave. Philip blinked heavily a few times, only half aware of the man walking away, winding the window back up took more effort than it felt it should, then he just rested his head back on the wheel. 

He was so damn tired. 

-

Stephen looked up from his latest cold case review as Tara stepped into the room, file in hand. “Another one already?”

“Isla Yates.” Tara pinned the new picture to the board, “Six years old, she went missing from the family car while her father was napping at a rest stop in Covington, Alabama just off the 331.”

Stephen shook his head, “We knew he would strike again soon, with his failure, but I really didn’t expect it to be this fast.”

“I wasn’t sure, the information we have is so limited. With his MO, there really is no way there hasn’t been other failures.” Tara said, “Problem is the odds of anyone reporting a guy telling them their light was out, when it wasn’t, are pretty slim. We have no idea how long it normally takes him, between failure and success.”

“Elisa Kennedy only reported it because of her history.” Stephen agreed, “Anyone else, they’d give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“Dismiss it as him having seen a similar car, or a fault that meant it was out when he said but it was on again by the time they had the chance to check, like we decided before.” Tara shrugged, “It’s just frustrating as hell.”

Stephen nodded, “I knew you, but it’s such a passing encounter that people could easily forget it, their kids are still with them, safe, they have no idea what they managed to avoid.”

Tara nodded, rubbing her forehead. “How lucky they were.”

Stephen hesitated, then asked the question at the forefront of his mind. “Have they found a body yet?”

Tara shook her head, “They’re setting up a search party and I’m going to head out there.”

Stephen raised an eyebrow.

“As soon as I got the notification I called the sheriff, said I’d seen the report, told him I was concerned it might be linked to a case we’ve been looking into.” Tara said, “He’s in his first term, and with a missing kid he’s happy for any extra help he can get.”

“You got a plane booked?” Stephen asked, all too aware that she wouldn’t be able to use the BAU jet.

Tara nodded, “Garcia was working on it when I left, my go bag is in my car.”

“Safe travels, let me know when you land.” Stephen said, and Tara nodded, heading for the door. 

“I will.”

“Let’s hope this is the one that gets us what we need.”

Tara held up her crossed fingers as she headed for the door, leaving Stephen alone in his office, surrounded by the victims past.


	3. Three

_2016.  
The walk was long enough that Tara started to sweat, stopping to take a drink from her water bottle as she considered her surroundings._

_The ground was mostly flat and lacked any real landmarks. Even knowing that she was less than a half hour's walk from the rest stop she couldn't see any sign of it._

_No small child would be able to find their way back, if they wandered this far._

_But, no small child would have reason to wander so far. There was nothing in this landscape to tempt them. No excitingly shaped trees or hills, no interesting features, no animals even, not that were visible._

_Why would a child, last seen by their parents sleeping soundly in the backseat, climb out of the car and walk so far in the dark._

_If only there had been even a hint of a reason, an argument with their parent, the lack of a toilet at the rest stop, something to tempt them in the landscape, even at night..... It was hard not to feel that there was something very wrong with so many young girls dying from apparent exposure after wandering from the safety of their caregiver’s car in the night._

_Tara took a breath, slid her bottle back into her light pack and followed the deputy the last few yards to the place they'd found the body._

_It had been a year, and it was remote, but there were a few offerings on the ground. A stuffed toy, two bundles of flowers and a potted cactus._

_The ground was bare dirt, with just a large stone that the girl had been found slumped against. The shelter that she might have chosen, or just the place she'd been left._

_The deputy came to a stop at her side, staring at the sad little memorial. "It took three months to find the body."_

-

Philip Yates was a mess. 

Tara watched the man pace the room through the window, debating how to approach him. She had read his original statement on the plane, it had all of the same elements as the every one of the previous cases. 

Tired parent, sleeping child, quiet rest area out in the sticks and a man knocking on the window to tell them they had a light out. 

She just wished she knew how the unsub knew who to target. How he hunted. 

She wished that she didn’t feel like Isla was already dead. That she didn’t know the odds in these cases. 

Tara waited until Yates sagged down onto the couch, head in his hands, before she stepped into the room. 

“Mr Yates, I’m SSA Tara Lewis, with the FBI.” She let the door swing closed behind her, giving Yates a little space before she moved any closer. 

“Sheriff Hayes said you were on your way,” Yates rubbed at his red eyes, sniffing, “and Carly is too.” 

“Your wife?” Tara asked. 

Yates nodded, “She stayed at home, with our teenage kids, this was a special trip, just for me and Isla.” He stopped closing his eyes for a moment before he swallowed hard and looked up at her, “I don’t know how she got out of the car, I swear I thought the child lock was on. She knows not to go anywhere without us, I just, I...I don’t understand….”

Tara grabbed a chair, positioning it so she could sit in front of him, just a few feet away. “I know this is hard, I know you want nothing more than to find your daughter.” She waited until he looked up, until he met her gaze, “I want to walk you through last night, everything you remember, see if there’s anything else, any more details than you already gave the Sheriff.”

Yates hesitated, then nodded, “Anything, if it will help.”

“I want to try a cognitive interview, I’ll walk you through what you remember, see if there’s anything that sticks out.” 

Yates swallowed, wiping at his eyes, “What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to close your eyes. Take deep breaths. Focus on what you remember, talk me through it.” Tara instructed. “You were driving….”

“I felt myself start to drift off and I swerved across lanes…” Yates flinched a little, “I jolted awake and I knew I had to pull off.” 

“Were there any other cars?” Tara asked.

Yates frowned, “It was dark, I couldn’t see any other headlights, I thought I was lucky there weren’t any other cars, or I might have caused an accident.”

“You knew you had to pull off…”

“Yeah, I sat up in my seat more, and shifted my weight a bit, I turned the radio to another station, just to keep myself awake, then I spotted the rest stop and I pulled in.”

“What about Isla?”

“I could hear her, she snuffles in her sleep, I looked in the mirror to check, just before I turned off, she was curled towards the window, as much as she could. She looked so peaceful….”

“When you looked in the mirror then, did you see any other vehicles?”

Yates frowned, “No, I, it was still clear. I heard a truck go past headed the other way, and just a flash of headlights, but the road I could see was clear….”

“You pulled into the rest stop…”

“I pulled up and I shut off the engine. It wasn’t cold or anything, and I was going to nap. I didn’t want to waste my battery.”

“Did you see anyone else in the rest stop?” 

“No, it was dead quiet. There was a little bit of dust, like maybe someone had just left, the lights from over by the restrooms, but there wasn’t anyone else I could see.”

“What could you hear?”

“The engine ticking, and Isla, and the bugs outside.” He licked his lips, “There was a hum, like a generator, then when I looked down to set the alarm on my phone, I heard someone pull in behind.” 

“Did you see anything?”

“I, no, I, I was looking at my phone, which was bright, but I don’t, I don’t think I saw headlights. And I smelt cigarettes, like someone was smoking nearby.”

“And then what happened?” 

“I put my phone down, on the central console, I checked Isla, then I crossed my arms over the steering wheel, lent forward to rest my head on them, and I started to drift off…”

“Did you hear anything then?” 

“I, someone walking across the gravel, then the knock on the window.” He nodded, “Yeah, I heard him before he knocked, but he still startled me and it took me a minute before I was awake enough to wind down my window. He told me one of my lights was out….” He frowned, opening his eyes, “But how did he know….”

Tara shook her head, leaning close, “That doesn’t matter right now, just focus back on then, and close your eyes.”

Yates hesitated, shuddering a little before he swallowed again, closing his eyes, “He told me I had a light out, but, he wasn’t looking at me….he was looking at Isla…..oh God, he was looking at her….”

Tara reached out, covering his hands with her own, “Focus. Can you tell me what he looked like?”

Yates took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, “He, um, he was average build, he was white, he had a beard and dark hair, dark eyes.”

“Did anything about him stand out?”

Yates frowned, “He was leaning against the car, like, braced against the roof with his right hand, I think, he smelt like cigarette smoke and there was, a smudge or something on the back of his hand.”

“Did you recognise him?”

Yates’ frown deepened, “I, no, I, I never saw him before.”

“Ok, so he told you you had a light out…”

“Yeah,” Yates swallowed hard, then nodded, “He said he had been behind us on the road, and saw us pull in. Then I thanked him. He didn’t walk away straight away, just stayed there a moment, then he headed back to his vehicle.”

“Did you see the vehicle?”

“No, I, I never looked. I barely even remembered to close the window again, I was so tired. I could hear him walking away, and Isla breathing….then I was out.”

“Ok, you said you set an alarm?”

“Two hours, I woke up as soon as it went off, and, it took me a minute, I,” He shuddered, shaking his head, “I didn’t notice she was gone, not right away.”

“You fell asleep as he was walking away, then you woke up to your alarm?”

Yates nodded, “Yeah. I turned the alarm off, and noticed it was starting to get a little light, it was so late when I’d pulled off.” He swallowed hard, wiping at his cheeks, “I put my phone down, and I realised I couldn’t hear Isla. I turned, and the back was just...empty.”

“What did you notice?”

“That my daughter was gone, just….” He stopped, taking a few deep breaths, “I’m sorry. I, she wasn’t in her seat, the doors were all closed, but she wasn't there. I know I had the child locks on, I don’t know how she got out….”

“Mr Yates, I know this is hard, but I need for you to focus, can you do that for me.” 

He swallowed, the nodded, “For Isla, I can do that.”

Tara closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath of her own. “What did you do then?”

“I got out, I yelled her name, I looked around, there was no one else there. I went into the restrooms, all of them, just in case, and I looked around everywhere, but she….she wasn’t anywhere.” 

“Did anything stand out to you?”

He shook his head, “I just keep thinking she couldn’t be gone, but I couldn’t see anything, I couldn’t see any sign of her, or anyone.” 

“Yours was the only car there?”

He nodded, “The security patrol car pulled in, five minutes after I woke up, and I told them Isla was missing, and they got my statement. They were the first people I saw.”

Tara nodded, giving his hand a squeeze before she pulled away. “Ok, that’s fine, you did great.”

Yates looked up at her, sniffing, “But does any of it help?”

-

_2017  
“I, I just don’t understand.” Poppy Caine clenched her hands into fists on her lap, staring at a point past Stephen’s shoulder. “There was no one around, where did he come from? How did he…”_

_“Ms Caine,” Stephen shifted to draw her attention, keeping his voice pitched low, “I know this is difficult, and I wish I could answer that question for you.”_

_Poppy swallowed hard, eyes narrowing, “But you can’t.”_

_“I can’t even say that he had anything to do with what happened to your daughter. The man you remember might just have been a considerate stranger.” Stephen answered, “And I know that doesn’t help you any, but we really appreciate you being willing to talk to us about what happened.”_

_“If it can help stop someone else having to live through what I have, then of course.” Poppy replied, wiping her eyes with one of the tissues she’d gathered on her lap. “I’ve been told by enough people that talking about it might help. When you called, I figured this would be preferable to another counselor telling me about the mind’s coping mechanisms.”_

_“Again, we really appreciate you taking the time.” Stephen pulled out a card, “If you remember anything else, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”_

_Poppy eyed the card for a long moment before she reached out to take it, “And you’ll let me know if anything develops.”_

_Stephen fought not to give anything away, debating how to respond. “If any new information becomes available, we will be in touch.”_

_Poppy’s smile was a little bitter. “Thank you Agent Walker, for thinking I had something of value to offer.”_

_Stephen watched silently as the young woman walked out of the meeting room, sagging a little once she was out of sight. He rubbed his eyes, weary. It was worse than Scratch. These parents who had lost their children, who had been told it had been an awful accident._

_At least with Scratch his victims had been proven right._

-

Tara watched as the Sheriff stepped into the room where the Yates’ were waiting, arms crossed over her stomach. 

It hadn’t taken three months to find Isla. 

She turned away, stepping out of the main bullpen of the station and heading outside. She needed some fresh air, just a moment away from this new anguish. 

The police were canvassing the rest stop, they’d put out an appeal from anyone who might have been in the area, but it was the same as every other one of the files she’d been collecting for almost two years. They were just following protocol when it came to missing children, ticking the boxes. 

Tara lent against the wall of the police station, staring across the road, not really seeing any of the buildings. She sighed, rubbing at her eyes, before she pulled out her phone and dialing. “They found her body half an hour ago.” She said, as soon as he picked up. 

“That sucks.” Stephen replied, voice quiet.

“Yes, it does.” Tara closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, forcing herself to focus, “Our unsub’s a smoker, and Yates didn’t remember seeing any sign of any other vehicles on the road. Yates was only asleep for two hours top, he had an alarm set.”

“And her body was found just twelve hours after he made his report to the security guards.” 

“So this unsub was quick.”

“Any sign of his van still at the rest stop?”

“No, Yates was certain that there was no one else there when he woke up.” 

“That’s a pretty tight window.” Stephen pointed out, “Two hours from point of contact to reported missing.”

“They think she died of exposure, but it wasn’t an especially cold night.” Tara said.

“Well, the one upside of all this is she was found quickly, so we should be able to get a better idea of what this guy does.” Stephen said, “It might sound cold, but hopefully Isla’s death will give us some more of that information we so badly need.”

“I don't think that will be of much comfort to her parents.” Tara sighed, rubbing her forehead, “One of the deputy’s is going to take me out there.”

“Ok.” There was a pause, “Tara, if you need anything….”

“I will call, don’t worry. I just, needed a moment.”

-

It was hard, just sitting in the office, knowing that Tara was out there, dealing with this god awful case all on her own. She might not have kids, but there weren’t many people he’d ever known who didn’t find cases involving kids hard. 

One of the pluses of his work with the BAP had been how few cases he’d had to work that involved children. 

His gaze was drawn to the pictures of the victims, three of whom looking so much like his own daughter had at that age. 

He sighed, rolling himself away from the desk to look at the map. It was odd, and a little frustrating, to find himself having to look up at the boards where before he’d been on eye level with the top of most case boards. He shook his head, mentally scolding himself for yet again, lingering on the things he’d lost. Such small things they typically were as well. 

He snorted, then shifted so he could take in the map, eyes narrowing. The unsub had a definite range, mostly following the line of the I-10, though he ranged north and south of the route. He picked up a new green pin, pushing it in to mark Isla Yates. Only the second in Alabama. 

Stephen frowned at the map, then glanced around at the other boards. They were missing something, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something bothering him. 

He wheeled himself back to the desk, pulling the files towards himself and opening up Tara’s original spreadsheet. Time to go back to the files and see what jumped out at him. 

-

Tara trailed behind the deputy as they headed back to the rest stop where they’d left the car. 

Forensics had been apologetic, if there had been any sign of footprints around the body, they had been smothered by those of the searchers. They were collecting what they could, but there wasn’t much hope. 

Isla’s clothes they would collect from the ME, and run the tests she’d requested, hoping that the lack of months between death and discovery would allow them to confirm what had and hadn’t happened to Isla Yates. 

The problem was, she just couldn't get the image of the little girl out of her head. She’d looked oddly peaceful, stuffed bear by her side. 

“You know what seems strange about this whole thing?” Deputy Dawes asked, slowing so she was walking alongside Tara. “The father never mentioned that his daughter had a stuffed toy.”

Tara stopped, startling the other woman. “What?”

Dawes shrugged, clearly surprised by Tara’s reaction, “He gave us the rundown on what she was wearing, but no mention of the toy. Every other missing kid case I’ve worked, if they had a special toy, the parent mentioned it.”

Tara mentally ran through the other reports. She knew Tatiana had had a toy, but it had been her own, the others...it hadn’t stood out at the time. The age the girl’s were, the presence of a stuffed toy hadn’t seemed out of place. 

“Agent Lewis?”

Tara shook her head, unable to hold back a laugh as she met the other woman’s gaze, “You might have just spotted something we’ve been missing this whole time.”

“What difference does a stuffed toy make?”

“It might make all the difference.” Tara replied, remembering seeing the techs bagging the toy. She started walking again, slightly faster now. Dawes shook her head, but followed, hurrying to catch up to the taller woman. 

“More difference than the CCTV video?” Dawes asked, just as they reached the edge of the rest stop. 

Tara stopped, turning to stare at the woman once again. “There’s video?”

Dawes nodded, flashing a bright smile, “Sheriff reckons so, we’re just waiting on it coming in from the company that runs the security.”

Tara shook her head, looking around at the rest stop, half full of emergency vehicles, finally spotting the cameras mounted on the restrooms, and in various other positions. They weren’t obvious, not if you didn’t know they were there.

No evidence, then the plates and now this. 

She might finally get the solid proof she’d been wishing for.


	4. Four

_2016  
The man shrugged, looking up at the camera mounted on the pole beside them. _

_“They don’t work. Company figured that people wouldn’t know they were duds, and it’s cheaper to have fakes than real working ones.”_

_Tara stared at the man for a long moment, disbelieving, before shaking her head and closing her eyes. Taking a moment. “How many people know they don’t work?”_

_Hank, the rest stop’s head maintenance guy, shrugged, “I figure anyone who know the signs, anyone who's tried to get the video over the last few years…”_

_Tara sighed. She hadn’t expected anyone to agree to talk to her, had just driven out to the only Florida rest stop on her list in the hope that she might get some answers about the lack of video. She had to be thankful that Hank had been so willing to talk, once she’d flashed her badge._

_“Is there any security?”_

_Hank nodded, “Oh yeah, we got security patrols, they come out every hour or so, do a drive around.”_

_“Does it work as a deterrent?”_

_Hank sighed, shrugging yet again, “There been a few little things, nothing like that murder, but it hasn't stopped everything, but it always comes down to money. Funding.”_

_Tara nodded, “Thank you for your time.” Hank nodded, then headed off, picking up his abandoned toolbox. Tara watched him go, thinking through what she knew._

_Most rest stops had some kind of security. But unless they saw signs of a crime in progress, they wouldn’t question that presence of a van. Which meant that while there was some risk to the unsub, it wasn’t enough to deter him._

_And the security rarely seemed to extend to CCTV coverage, and where that existed, it seemed to be minimal at best._

-

“How’d it go?” Stephen asked as he picked up the phone.

“We might have video, and I have another question for you to consider.” Tara replied, grateful to have an office to herself at the station. She had spoken briefly to the Yates’, confirming that their daughter had not had a stuffed toy like the one that had been found with her, and it had been a hard conversation. Every other interview she’d managed to mostly avoid the suggestion that there might be a killer at work, but there had been no way around it this time.

“That's’ great news, could be the break we’ve been waiting for.” Stephen said, “But what’s your question?”

“There was a stuffed toy bear left with Isla’s body.” Tara explained, “It wasn’t hers. I know Tatiana had her own stuffed toy with her, but I’m not sure about the others….”

“I will go through the files, and the pictures the parents provided, see if I can find any mention, I’m guessing you want me to avoid getting in touch with any of the parents again if I can avoid it?”

Tara nodded, “Yes, we’re still on the very edge of having a case. If this video features our tattoo’d man, that’ll change things, but….”

“Best not stir too much up….I’m guessing that the Yates’ have figured there might be more to their daughter’s death?” Stephen asked. 

“Hard not to, with me asking if she had a stuffed toy.” 

“I’m sorry you’re on your own for this…”

“It’s ok, I seem to have been adopted by one of the deputy’s and she was with me.”

“I’m glad someone was.” She could hear the smile in Stephen’s voice and she relaxed a little. 

“The coroner promised a report as soon as possible, but it’s getting late…” She didn’t want to outright tell him to go home, couldn’t tell him that any checking on the toys could wait until the next day. He was an adult, he could make his own choices. She wasn’t going to fuss. 

Stephen laughed, “Not as subtle as you think. Monica’s coming for me in an hour, and I’ll go then, no arguments. In the meantime, I’ve been going through the files again, seeing if I could answer our other question.” There was a pause, “That and there’s something niggling at me.”

Tara smiled, “Did you find anything?”

Stephen sighed, “These parents, all of them were so tired, they weren’t aware enough of their surroundings to say for certain if they’d seen the unsub before he knocked on the window. Quite a few were sure that there wasn’t a van that close behind them, but they don’t think they had seen the van before, earlier on in the journey, at least not during the initial interviews.”

Tara sighed, closing her eyes, “How many changed the story by the time we interviewed them?”

“About half.” Stephen said, “And they split between those who told themselves they imagined the whole thing, those who thought they’d seen the van stalking them and those who had seen the van or the unsub outside their home at some point previous to the incident.”

“They couldn’t supply the answers, so they filled the gaps.” 

“Exactly, which means we have to discount a lot of what they told us. The others, it’s pretty consistent that the only time they could say for certain they saw the van was when he spoke to them at the rest stop. Even when we tried the cognitive interviews, they couldn’t say they’d seen it before.”

“And that still doesn't make sense.” Tara said, “How does he know they have a kid in the car? What is it about them that attracts him? I mean, he can’t really be giving the same spiel to every person he sees pull into a remote rest stop.”

“Could be he pulls in behind everyone, but as he walks up to the vehicle he looks inside, before he knocks.” Stephen replied. 

“What he does, the circumstances, it’s such a specific combination of factors. Parents tired enough to fall asleep, tired enough to sleep through their kid leaving, tired enough to not clearly remember him. Add in his preference for girls aged 5 or 6…..”

“It doesn’t make sense unless he spots them at some point prior to his use of a ruse.”

“Exactly.”

“So maybe he passes them at some point on the highway, or spots them on their previous stop then follows them?” Stephen suggested. 

“It’s a lot of commitment, he could follow and fail to have an opportunity with any number of potential victims, but it’s possible.” Tara said, leaning back in her chair, “Or maybe he really is just that lucky. He acts on impulse, and the times he fails, most people don’t think anything of it.” 

Stephen shook his head, “But then again to run into the fact you’d think we’d have found at least one example of a failed abduction, where the parent wasn’t fast enough asleep.”

“That’s where the kid’s leaving the vehicle on their own is the key factor. He doesn’t open the door for them, they get out….”

“His failures don’t get flagged, because the parent doesn’t see him. It doesn’t get to the point of concern.” He hesitated, “That said, I would have still thought a few parents would wake up, or a kid would shout out, when he actually take them. That would definitely have been flagged.”

Tara nodded, “Unless someone didn’t take it seriously, or just left with their kid and didn’t see any point to reporting it. I mean, some guy at a rest stop late at night, maybe they worried that social services would get involved because the kid was alone, or they couldn’t be sure of ID’ing the guy.”

“There’s nothing to flag, because they didn’t get reported.” Stephen sighed, “I hate that that’s an entirely plausible situation.” 

Tara nodded, “Yeah. The only problem is, if they had child lock on, like Yates, the unsub has to have opened the door. Maybe he part opens it and that wakes the kid, then it’s just a matter of waiting.”

“There is an insane level of risk to what this guy is doing.”

“And yet….”

Stephen sighed, “Well, we could put out an appeal….”

“But that would alert him to the fact we know he’s out there, and make him go to ground, or worse.” Tara shook her head, “There’s just, so much frustrating. Any other case, we could ask for witnesses, could make a formal appeal for people to come forward with accounts, but this one, it’s too risky.”

“And we still don’t have enough solid evidence.” Stephen finished, “Yeah, I hear you. At least, when we catch this bastard, we can put out an appeal and hopefully catch those people. Get more evidence to keep him behind bars. Here’s hoping that video shows him in the act.”

“Even if it only shows him approaching the car, then Isla somehow getting out herself….it’ll be better than nothing.” Tara replied. “It may be worth seeing if Garcia can back track any of the victim’s cars. See if there’s sign of him following them before he makes his approach.”

“I would have thought it would have been flagged during the searches, but it’s worth a check. It wouldn’t be the first time she picked up something that the locals didn’t.” Stephen agreed, “I’ll get onto that in the morning.”

“I’ll call you with any new information I get.”

“Here’s hoping this is the time he’d made a mistake.” Stephen said.

Tara nodded, “Here’s hoping.”

-

The bureau tried, but it was far from completely accessible. Stephen cursed the architect who had included far too many staircases in the building’s design. 

There was good reason they had given him an office on the fourth floor, which was generally level and allowed him to get to everywhere he might need. For the work that they’d planned to assign him at least. 

Desk bound profilers assessed cases, wrote up a basic profile and added them back to the agents in charge. Any that might need a profiler on scene, or more involved consultations he was expected to pass to the BAU teams. His new superior hadn’t been all too impressed with his assignment to Tara’s project. 

The layout of the sixth floor forced him to take a long route around to get to Garcia’s office, avoiding the one short set of stairs that blocked him from using the shorter route. 

Last he’d heard the team weren’t working a live case, so it should be easy enough to get Garcia’s help with their evidence hunt. Hopefully, what would have taken a police department days to trawl through, she would have some fancy programme do in hours. 

Stephen knocked before he pushed the door open, already used to the complicated sequence required to open a fire door while also getting himself through it. 

Garcia’s office was the same whirlwind of colour and screens that he remembered, though the lady herself was a little toned down. “Oh my gosh, Agent Stephen Walker!”

She grinned, almost throwing herself out of her chair to met him, absolutely no hesitation as she hugged him. “It is so good to see you.”

He couldn’t help but smile, “It is good to be seen.”

“What brings you to the cave of wisdom?” Garcia asked, dropping back down into her chair.

“I was hoping you would be able to help with something.”

“A man with skull tattoo something?” She asked, expression diming, just a little. 

Stephen nodded, “We were wondering if there’s a way to track the victims cars back, see if they crossed paths with the unsub before the rest stops.”

Garcia turned to her monitors, hands almost a blur as she pulled up a variety of windows. He caught enough to see she was pulling together all the details of the cars and routes taken and compiling it. “As amazing as I am, we might only catch a moment or so of video of each of them.”

“Because of the lack of cameras.” Stephen said and she nodded. 

“Yeah, give me a town or city, and I can get you something, outside of that, it gets into slim pickings.” She flicked through screens, setting searches going before she turned back to him. “It’ll take a little while, but I’ll let you know. I added in the plate I ran for Tara before as well, just in case. Never let it be known that I am anything but thorough” 

“Much appreciated. Tara might have some video for you, from the latest crime scene as well.” 

“Of the actual unsub?” Garcia’s eyes widened.

“Maybe, but we don’t know yet.” Stephen replied, “It would be nice to think so, but we’ll have to say.”

“Oh I will be keeping all things crossed, and if the fates do smile upon you, I will totally be able to ID this creep, finally.”

Stephen smiled, “Let’s hope for that.” He turned to go and she stood.

“Do not be a stranger.” She pointed a plastic unicorn at him, “I want to see you, and hear all about your kids, and I will totally pimp your new office for you.” 

Stephen laughed, “Well it could do with a little more colour.”

She grinned, pulling the door open for him, “And that is exactly where I come in. I will hit you back, just as soon as I have anything for you.”

“Thank you Penelope.”

“Always a pleasure.”

-

“Agent Lewis.” 

Tara looked up from her files as Sheriff Hayes stepped into the room. “Sheriff Hayes.”

“We just got the MEs report,” He held out a file to her, “First glance, it seemed like she died of exposure, but like you thought, given the timing no way she could have died that way.”

Tara winced, taking the offered file and flipping through, “There were drugs in her system, enough to have caused her death.”

The sheriff nodded, “You feel like giving me a little more detail on this mystery case of yours?”

Tara hesitated, weighing her options. She couldn’t really refuse, and finally they had evidence of foul play, this was the best chance she had, the only problem was she was sure the unsub had to have moved on. There wouldn’t be another death in Alabama, not for a while at least. “Of course.” She motioned towards one of the spare chairs, “This might take a little while.”

-

_2016  
The sheriff eyed Tara’s badge with clear distaste. “Sorry agent, way I see it, there ain’t no case for you here.”_

_“There has been a series of child deaths, with certain key similarities. You might be right, there might not be a case, but I’d rather do what I can to make sure.”_

_He snorted, “I realise you folks are out here on another case, hunting down some serial killer or other who escaped your grasp, but this ain’t your killer.”_

_Tara fought back a sigh. She’d managed to convince six of the police forces with deaths in their jurisdictions to at least here her out and make a note. Just in case the unsub returned. She’d even managed to reinterview a few of the parents, getting a clearer idea of what had happened, on the premise of reviewing cases of child fatalities to see if anything could be done to prevent or predict certain risks._

_It was a fine line, but one she had to walk, given the circumstances._

_And nothing could change the fact that their daughters were dead._

_“I’m sorry Agent Lewis, I can’t help you. I suggest you head back to that boss of yours and work on some real cases.”_

_Tara took a breath, then offered him a smile, “I appreciate you taking the time to see me.” She nodded to him, all too aware of the gazes on them, then turned on her heel and walked out of the station._

_Some people just didn’t want to be convinced._

-

“I looked back through the files, Tatiana wasn’t the first to be found with a stuffed toy, but she was one of only four whose parents specifically mentioned the stuffed toy in their reports.” Stephen’s face filled the screen of her laptop, the case boards visible behind him.

“So it’s a part of his signature. They always have a stuffed toy left with them.” Tara said, and glanced back at her notes, “Isla was a bear, Tatiana’s was a hippo….”

“No two the same,” Stephen confirmed, “And I suspect that at least one of the girls whose parents mentioned a stuffed toy were talking about a different stuffed toy than the one found with the remains.” 

“Definitely a part of his signature.” 

Stephen nodded, “And Garcia found two more old cases.”

Tara stiffened, “Two more?”

“They don’t fit the whole MO, but they’re earlier than any of the ones we’d already flagged and still within the area we have evidence for him being.” Stephen replied, moving a little so she could see the map, he motioned to two black pins and two orange pins, one in Florida the other in California, “They’re at the two extremes of his range, they fit the gender and age preference, but they weren’t taken in the middle of the night from rest stops. One was taken from a mall car park. The girl was asleep and the mother was just popping in for a few things...she came back to find the car broken into and the daughter gone.”

“A lot riskier than his more recent victims.” Tara said and Stephen nodded. 

“They found the girl, Lily Graham in the desert a few weeks later. She was found with a stuffed penguin.” Stephen said, pointing to the orange pin in California. “The other girl, Maggie Woods, was taken from her father’s car outside a gym. The daughter was sleeping, he was just stopping to pick up his rota for the next week. He came back to find his car broken into and his daughter gone, walkers found her remains two months later, with a stuffed turtle.”

“I wonder what made him change his mode of abduction.”

Stephen shook his head, “Could be it didn’t fulfil his needs, if he is re-creating something, maybe it didn’t match closely enough.” 

“With both of them it sounds like chance encounters. He spotted the girl left in the car, he took them.” Tara said, “It’s nowhere near as specific. He might not have even been planning to take a girl, he just saw the opportunity. That said, if he already had the stuffed toys, there was a clear intent to do so at some point.”

Stephen nodded, “This guy is organised. And if he drives back the route he’s hunting along often enough, good odds he knows the security patrols’ schedules.”

Tara nodded, “It’s just who his victims are going to be that isn’t planned.”

“Looks like.” Stephen hesitated, clearly considering her, before he spoke again, “So you filled the Sheriff in?”

Tara nodded, “He wanted me to give our profile to the deputies, but I pointed out that it wouldn’t help, given how transient this guy is. He isn’t going to be back here.”

Stephen shook his head, “Yeah, he’s been pretty careful about avoiding the same jurisdictions, and his countermeasures mean no one thought his victims were victims. Just unfortunate.”

“Isla’s autopsy proved foul play, we have the signature stuffed toys, we just don’t have a way to predict where he might strike next.”

Stephen held up a hand, “Actually I think I might have an idea on that front.” He moved out of view then returned with a whiteboard, with a map tacked to it. “We hadn’t quite reached saturation point with the victims until now, so while we had his hunting ground somewhat defined, we didn’t have the pattern clearly.”

“We thought he was traveling one end of the country to the other, than back, but it no way to say how regularly.”

Stephen nodded, “Because he’s kills were more spaced out, first just two a year, but these last few, he’s killing closer together. Add in Elisa Kennedy, and….” He held the board so she could see it clearly.

“He’s traveling east.” 

Stephen lowered the whiteboard. “Exactly.”


	5. Five

“We have your ghost on video.” Sheriff Hayes stepped into the office, “I had my people send it on to your Penelope Garcia, but he’s there clear as day.”

Tara smiled, sagging in her chair, just a little, “We finally have more than enough evidence to prove he exists.”

“And catch him.” Hayes replied, “You got a plan for that one yet?”

Tara hesitated, “We have an idea, but we’re still working out the details.”

“Anything i can help with?”

Tara smiled up at the Sheriff, “I appreciate the offer, and if there was I wouldn’t hesitate to ask, this is your case as much as it is mine.”

“But it’s not going to go down on my turf.” Hayes replied wryly. 

“It doesn’t look like it, no.” Tara replied, “But I will keep you up to date. If the video’s as clear as you say, it’ll be key to what comes next.”

“If your Garcia can’t ID the guy from that video, she’s not as good as you claimed.” Hayes replied, “I’d best go break the news to the Yates’.”

“Would you rather…”

Hayes waved a hand, cutting Tara off, “Hell no, this is the one thing I can do. You just catch the bastard.”

“I intend to.” Tara replied. No way was she letting the man with the skull tattoo get away now. She had him, she just needed to find a way to get to him before he took another life. 

-

Garcia caught him in the corridor, halfway to his office, laptop in hand. “I just looked at the footage the Sheriff sent, there’s multiple shots of your guy’s face.”

“Enough for facial recognition?” Stephen asked as the door to his office swung shut behind her. 

“Oh, more than enough. I have worked with far worse.” Garcia replied, “If this guy is in any database, anywhere, I will find him.”

“And Tara will catch him.” Stephen said and Garcia nodded. 

“Oh hells yes. This guy is so done.”

She settled into the guest chair, laptop on the desk and positioned so he could see as she pulled up the video. Stephen pulled out his phone and dialled Tara.

“Hey, you get the video?” Tara asked.

“Yeah, Garcia’s just queuing it up to show me now.” Stephen replied. 

“And here we go,” Garcia hit play, a clear view of Philip Yates’ car and the van pulled up behind him. 

“Looks like he stole himself another set of plates,” Stephen said, “They’re Texas plates this time.”

“Which just figures.” Garcia commented, working code in a window in the corner of the screen. 

“And you can see him get out, throw a cigarette then approach the car.” 

“The creep even stops to look in the back window before he knocks.” Garcia shook her head, typing speeding up just a little. 

“Then he’s speaking to Yates, there’s a real clear view of his face as he heads back to the van, but he definitely clocks Isla in the back seat.” Stephen watched as the video showed the van leaving, anticipation building. This video would, he hoped, answer the question of how exactly the abductions went down. 

“He definitely leaves?” Tara asked, and Garcia made a noise.

“He leaves the sight of this camera, but there’s other footage that shows him stopping, just out of sight but still in the rest stop.” Garcia replies, “Enough that it probably seemed like he was gone gone, but he so was not, he was just waiting.”

“We knew he had to be organised.” Tara replied. 

“He walks back, ten minutes after fake leaving.” Garcia provides, skipping the video ahead. 

“You were right, he opens the door, not wide, but enough that Isla could get out, despite the child lock.” Stephen watched as the little girl woke, clearly in reaction to the door’s movement, and the breeze that was undoubtedly coming through the gap. She slipped from her seat, lent on the door and climbed out when it opened, obviously curious. “There doesn’t seem to be a specific lure, she’s just, exploring the new place a little. He closes the door once she’s far enough away, then grabs her.”

Garcia mutters some choice words under her breath, the video flicking back to the frames with the best views of the unsub face, then her software kicks in, generating the image to compare to those in the database. 

“Did you manage to back track any of the other victims?” Tara asked, into the silence as they waited for the programme to do it’s magic. 

Garcia hummed, “I didn’t get much I’m afraid, coverage was just too spotty, and I only went back half an hour or so into their journeys. That said my love, with this video, I may be able to get you something. This guy is so going down.”

Stephen watched as image after image flashed up on the screen, ignoring the ache that was building in the small of his back as he leaned forward, fascinated. He’d only caught glimpses of Garcia’s searches in the past, never had the full experience. 

“And we have a winner,” Stephen commented as the computer dinged and flashed up a driver’s license, undoubtedly belonging to their unsub. 

“David Lovett, formerly of Thousand Oaks, California.” Garcia said, reading off the brief summary that accompanied the licence. “As suspected, he had no listed current address.”

“He probably lives out of that van of his.” Tara said.

“Which he does actually own, he just clearly believes in changing plates regularly.” Garcia shook her head, “I will some more digging and hit you back, but I am guessing you want an APB out on this creep.” 

“We sure do.” Stephen replied.

“We think he’s headed to Florida.” Tara said, “So let Florida Highway Patrol know to keep an eye out.”

“Done and done.” 

“You are the best Garcia. I’m going to make some calls, talk to Hayes then I’ll head to Florida.” 

“Good luck.” Stephen said, just before his phone went dead.

Garcia mock glared, “Now you see this is why I normally work in my office alone when the team is out in the field.”

“So as not to deprive us of your amazing charm, from beginning to end of the conversation.” Stephen smiled, reaching out to catch one of her hands before she could retreat back to her office. “We couldn’t do any of this, anywhere near as fast without you. My colleagues at the BAP have always been jealous that the BAU got to you first.”

Garcia laughed, squeezing his hand quickly before pulling away. “Still with the charm.”

-

Getting to Florida was quicker and easier than Tara had expected, no doubt partly due to Garcia’s skill. She stepped off the plane to find an agent from the Jacksonville field office waiting for her, and the drive to the field office was mercifully short. 

The agent lead her to an office, then left her to get prepare for the briefing. The plan was to brief both the FBI and highway patrol in one go, give the profile and outline how to approach Lovett if they found him. 

It was going to be a delicate operation, but so much easier now they had an ID. 

The room filled quickly and she outlined the case, the profile and Lovett’s MO. They were going to station officers in out of the way rest stops, hidden from view, while patrols kept an eye out for any sign of his van. If he kept to pattern, accelerated as it now seemed to have become, there was the possibility he was already on the hunt for his next victim. 

Tara was fully prepared for the inevitable questions. 

"Shouldn't we be warning people?" The agent who had spoken was pale, shaky, and Tara couldn't really blame him.

"Unfortunately, a public warning would most likely drive Lovett underground. We need to catch him before he can kill any more children, but to do that, we can't risk him realising we know what he's doing. The way he's been operating, approaching tired parents and giving them a safety warning, then waiting for them to go to sleep, he's doing everything possible to hide what he's doing. He’s providing excuses and alternate causes of the deaths. Until now, he’s left so little evidence that it's going to be hard to connect him to all of the cases."

“So we just wait until he’s spotted?” One of the officers asked, shifting a little on the spot. Tara couldn't blame him for not liking the idea, but there was little other choice. 

“Lovett has no fixed address that we can find, and we don’t have any record of work for him. He is transient, which is going to make him tricky to catch, but as I said, he has a pattern.” Tara explained, missing having the rest of the team to split the pressure. “We’re stationing men at every rest stop, if he tries to abduct another girl, we will be in the best position possible to stop him.”

“How long are we going to do this for?” Another agent, clearly envisioning weeks of waiting.

“Ideally, we’ll catch him sooner rather than later, but it could take a few days.” Tara replied, being careful to be as honest as possible. “If in a week, there’s been no sign of him, we’ll review.” It had been agreed to give it a week, though Tara wasn’t holding on her breath on whether it would last that long. There was no public pressure, and Lovett might not actually be in Florida, she just had to hope they were right, and he was spotted sooner rather than later.

But they were close. So close. They just needed to tighten the net. 

-

Tara claimed a seat in one of the patrol cars that would be covering the I-10, keeping to their usual schedule so as to not raise Lovett’s suspicions, but keeping in touch with the men stationed at the rest areas. 

The officer wasn’t the talkative type and Tara was grateful. She really didn’t feel like spending the whole night defending her work, or answering endless questions about profiling. It meant she could listen to the radio. 

She’d never been quite so tense before, but then, most stake outs she’d experienced had been spent in a fixed place, not driving miles of interstate late at night. 

The call came just as she was starting to think the night would be a loss. It was just shy of midnight and a van matching Lovett’s had been spotted, trailing behind another car. They were just a mile or so short of a rest stop, and the car she was in was within range. 

The officer who’d spotted the van had been traveling in the opposite direction, and the officers at the rest stop had been warned. It was just a matter of waiting. 

Tara held her breath, watching the road ahead, spotting another cruiser pulling onto the road just ahead. Neither had their lights on, but they were just a few miles short of their target. 

It was just a matter of hoping it was Lovett. 

-

Tara opened the door to the back of the cruiser and guided Lovett in, all too aware of the man’s eerie silence. 

He had followed the car into the rest stop, and had climbed out of his van, only to be caught by the officers on guard as he’d approached the vehicle. He hadn’t said a word, hadn’t even fought them. 

Just a sullen silence. 

It felt more than a little surreal, even more so than Scratch’s death. She knew why, could recognise her own mental processes for what they were. 

Peter Lewis had had a face and name the whole time she’d worked his case. He’d targeted her family directly, left them with wounds to heal and bonds to repair. He’d shaken up the team she’d just gotten used to being a part of, so soon after they’d finally captured the last of the hitmen. 

Ultimately, she had always known that Scratch was real. There had never been any doubt that he existed and needed to be stopped. 

The man with the skull tattoo, he had been the boogeyman. The ghost whose existence was questioned, who might have just been invented by the minds of parents who needed a reason for their children’s death, some strange kind of shared delusion. 

She’d had her doubts, had questioned if she was hunting a real person, but ultimately, she’d found the proof. She’d proven his existence, and she’d caught him, with Stephen’s help. 

But it still hadn’t quite sunk in. Going from so little evidence, to a name and a face. David Lovett, the man with the skull tattoo. Her hunt was done. 

She just wished Stephen could have been with her. That he could have physically been with her for the end. 

Tara slammed the door, shutting Lovett in the back of the cruiser before she turned to look at the van, then the surprised young mother talking to two of the other officers. 

It was finally over, she’d caught her ghost. 

Now it was just a matter of making sure he didn’t walk free to kill again. 

-

Clearing the boards took longer than Stephen had expected, at least it had until he’d realised that the legs were telescopic and he could lower them. 

He was adapting, learning new tricks to make things easier, learning not to push. 

But most of all, he was learning that he could still be useful. Stephen paused, holding the picture of Tatiana Taylor, wondering if she was more at peace now. Wondering if her father was more at peace.

The nightmare had been defeated, and would stand trial. 18 counts of murder, spread across the southern united states, but starting with the two in Alabama. Isla Yates’ case had the most evidence, evidence that couldn’t be argued against. 

“Hey.” Stephen jumped, almost dropping the picture as Tara stepped into his office, arms full of what looked distinctly like a fern.

“Did you bring that all the way from Florida?” 

Tara laughed, “No, I picked it up on the way back from the airport.” She nodded at his office, “I thought this place could do with a little more life.”

“Well, if Garcia has her way, it’s going to have plenty of life.”

Tara nodded, “It will,” she agreed, “and so much colour.”

Stephen slid the picture into place in the box by his feet, then backed away carefully, turning to face Tara. By all rights she should look worn, but he guessed finally catching the unsub she’d been hunting for almost two years was good reason to look as refreshed as she did. 

“I believe congratulations are in order, you proved the existence of, and caught, the man with a skull tattoo.” 

“We did that.” Tara replied, “I could not have done it without you.”

“Or Garcia.” Stephen said, 

“Oh no you don’t.” Tara shook her head, “No deflecting, you did a lot of the hard work, and you spotted the pattern.”

Stephen laughed, nodding, “Ok, I will accept some of the credit, as you’re not going to let me do otherwise.” His expression turned solemn as he nodded towards the box of files, “We proved William Taylor right, and we caught his ghost.” Stephen said, “Tatiana’s murderer will be charged and face justice.”

“It’s just a shame that it took William becoming a killer himself for someone to listen to him.” Tara replied.

Stephen nodded. “Did Garcia catch you up on Lovett’s life story?”

Tara shook her head, “Not completely, she gave me the brief outline. His divorce seems to have been the trigger.”

“Yeah, the last time he saw his daughter she was five and a half. The ex-wife took off with her to Europe, well out of his reach, with good reason by all accounts.” Stephen hesitated, “But we were right, about him recreating an event from his past.” 

Tara’s eyebrows rose, “We were?”

Stephen nodded, “His family used to do an annual trip to Florida, visiting his grandparents. One year, there was an incident. He was fifteen, and they were headed back when they stopped at a rest stop. It was the middle of the night, they were traveling in the family van, and they’d followed another car in. There was a little girl in the car, who was found dead from exposure after going missing during the night.”

“Did they think Lovett was responsible?”

Stephen shook his head, “He was one of the last people to see her, but he was a kid, and it looked like an unfortunate accident, but Garcia passed me the full details.”

“And it was disturbingly too familiar.” Tara finished. 

Stephen nodded, “The only thing that changed was the age. The little girl back then was younger, but other than that.”

“Damn.” Tara shook her head, “But I guess, we’ll never be able to say, if he killed her as well, or if maybe, he just found her after.”

“It’s doubtful.” Stephen agreed, “But we’ve got enough evidence, he’s not getting free.”

“Not if I have anything to do with it.” Tara agreed, then she smiled, shifting the fern in her arms. “Now, the only question is, where do you want this fern to go? Because, I don;t know about you, but I really need to go get some sleep.”

-

“Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking of life.” Anne Roiphe 

[](https://imgur.com/T8aCuSg)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know why it seems to always be the child killers who get away on this show, and I wanted to write something where they caught at least one of them!
> 
> This fic was me deciding to pick up the thread they placed, but never followed up on in the Awake. That said, I didn’t actually expect to find that the unsub they’d created in the Man with the Skull Tattoo went so far against regular profiles of that type of offender…. It was a difficult one to plot out. It evolved a lot as it was written, and came to actually fit the title I wasn't orignally sure of!
> 
> Writing this was an experience and an education. Apparently I have learned nothing since writing my story dealing with the bits they had on the Redmond Ripper. (AKA Sometimes they ignore reality in the episodes you least expect).


End file.
